₦airaland Forum

Pat Nevin: When Sunday comes.

Former Blue Pat Nevin is anticipating an intriguing game at the Bridge this weekend, and it is the performances of the players in contrasting circumstances and the tactical contest which interests him most…

Was it just a wobble or was it more than that? Certainly the Liverpool and Arsenal games were hugely disappointing but the league table doesn’t look too shabby right now following the two wins in a row since Antonio Conte changed the system to a 3-4-3.

The second half against Hull was a totally dominant display and the first half against Leicester was among the best halves we have witnessed at the Bridge over the past couple of seasons, although both opponents are not exactly in the best form at the moment if we are to be honest about it.

There are no certainties in the Premier League but there was still plenty to be positive about at the weekend. When the team sheets arrived before midday however to show no Cesc Fabregas, Branislav Ivanovic, William, Oscar or of course Kurt Zouma in the squad, it felt like a lot of first-choice players missing against the reigning champions could mean a difficult afternoon. Chelsea made light work of it, and quite a few were quick to point to the youth on the bench. Ola Aina, Dominic Solanke and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were all champing at the bit but it was of course Nathaniel Chalobah who made the biggest impression with his involvement in the third goal. It was a beauty to behold.

The result also underlined that this season looks likely to stay tight for quite some time, if not right to the end. ‘Chelsea in Crisis’ columns were being readied a few weeks back while Man City were already being talked about as runaway champions. Man United were having a nightmare apparently while Arsenal and Spurs were also considered to have the look of potential league winners.
It is all far too early to have any clue. Just for fun, look at the league table for the season so far and change just a couple of goals.
-
Had Man Utd beaten Man City 2-1 instead of the other way around, United would now be above City. That would change the narrative a bit would it not?

The coaches know this and they also know that you can’t win anything at this point in the season, but you can lose your chance of the title. The top seven are bunched very nicely and those big-city clubs would have been many people’s choice before the start of the season for who would be in the top seven at the end.

So Man Utd will turn up at the Bridge at the weekend and for the first time in many a generation a Red Devils manager will be applauded warmly by the Chelsea fans. It will be a strange day for Jose as we know he still has great affection for our club. He will however still be desperate to win against us obviously. More pertinently, he will turn up knowing that his team have been stressed far more than Chelsea in the preceding days.

The Monday night game between Liverpool and United was far from the classic it was built up (interminably) to be. It was however pretty fast, furious and wearing. There is their Fenerbahce game to deal with on Thursday as well. In many ways Jose will be feeling the preparation could not have been harder, especially considering the comparative rest the Chelsea team has had. So while they get tired and possibly injured, our lads get rested or allowed time to come back from injury.

Even so, it will be a tough game with little likelihood of one side hammering the other. The media build-up will be huge once more and even though it is Chelsea v Manchester United, it will be billed as Jose’s return more than anything else. In reality, he will almost certainly be back many times in the future and probably in more important circumstances than this one, but this will be the poignant one, for him and for us. If they do score, I somehow suspect he will not go running down the touchline sliding on his knees or punching the air in front of the United fans, but he may well be quite animated on the touchline. Acres of newsprint, hours of news time and a multitude of sports programmes will pour over this story, but once again I’ll be looking beyond this picture very quickly.

By the time Sunday comes, I will only be interested in the game between the two teams and the tactical battle between the two coaches. It should be fascinating. Jose knows our players inside out but does he have an answer to the different way Antonio Conte is using them? Which boss will blink first regarding the systems which are hugely different. Will one change to match up to the other?

This will be an intriguing game and depending on whether or not Man United open up a bit, it could be very exciting too. It would not surprise me however if they were just a bit cagey to say the least. Tired players who aren’t all in the first flush of youth, mixed with a few struggling to regain their best form, is not the best recipe for a high-tempo, high-pressing game at the best of times. It is even harder away from home against a Chelsea side who look resurgent.

Whatever happens, for once both managers in this fixture will be applauded from the field at the end, which is the way it should be.

Clubs official site.

Revealed! The REAL reason Chelsea's Diego Costa had a go at boss Antonio Conte against Leicester.

It was initially thought the striker wanted to go off to avoid suspension or rest a minor injury — but it's understood he was just sick of the manager nagging him

Diego Costa clashed with his Chelsea boss Antonio Conte after growing fed-up with being screamed at from the touchline.

Fans thought the striker indicated he wanted to come off during the win against Leicester to avoid a suspension, as he was only one booking away from a ban, or because he had a slight knock.

But Mirrorsport understands he was actually furious at what he saw as Conte’s criticism of his performance.
Star Costa, the Premier League’s leading scorer, has presented the Italian with his first big test since taking over in the summer.

In scenes reminiscent of his clash with then-boss Jose Mourinho last season, the 28-year-old dared Conte to substitute him if he was not happy with his display in the 3-0 victory over the reigning Premier League champions.
Watching fans were puzzled by Costa's gestures to the bench after 70 minutes on Saturday...

The controversial marksman - who also exchanged angry words with former Juventus and Italy coach Conte afterwards - was later told in no uncertain terms not to repeat his actions.
Mourinho dropped Costa for the very next game after a similar set-to last November.

It remains to be seen whether Conte will act in a similar way after this challenge to his authority.
Conte is well known for enthusiastically micro-managing his players from the touchline.

During the second half on Saturday, Costa’s patience snapped. He gave his manager both barrels from the pitch and was still fuming after the final whistle, before later calming down.

Last November, the Brazil-born Spain international clashed angrily with Mourinho during a Champions League game away to Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

The pair had a blazing row just before half-time in that match, with Costa giving as good as he got from the pitch.
It is claimed he also dared Mourinho to take him off if he was unhappy with his play.

Although he reappeared for the second half, Costa walked off at the end of that match without shaking his manager’s hand.

Conte said after Saturday’s match: “I know that in football when you are winning 2-0, in 10 or 15 minutes you can be losing.

"For this reason, I always stay (on edge) to maintain the right atmosphere on the pitch for my players.”

raumdeuter:
The thing he has done like disappearing in key games?

Hazard goal scoring records in the CL reads 5 all time CL goals Only 2/3 from open play.

Ahmed Musa would be ashamed of such stats

That doesn't still take away his achievements, does it?

Nihilist:
I still don't buy into that line of thinking, but we shall see.

Looking at the creative side of things, we can see that Hazard created more chances and made more key passes than both Ronaldo and Messi that year, but I believe that this tells 2 stories.

1. Messi and Ronaldo are relatively selfish. Obviously great goalscorers are naturally selfish, but the difference in key passes and number of shots between the Messi\Ororo and Hazard is quite stark. While the 1st group are willing to assume full goal scoring responsibility by passing less and shooting more, Hazard is virtually running away from goals by passing more and shooting less.

2. Hazard's supporting cast is either kak, or Ororo/Messi play with superstars, or EPL defences are tougher than laliga defences.

I'm quite sure the answer is a combination of all 3.
Diego Costa and Hazard were the only Chelsea players to score more than 10 goals that year whereas Madrid had 4 and Barca had 3. Neymar alone scored more than our top scorer and Benzema, Bale and Hames combined scored more than Costa+Hazard. This explains why both Messi and Ronaldo assisted more goals than Hazard despite creating fewer chances.

Also only one EPL team that year conceded more than 60 goals, whilst a whopping 8 laliga teams conceded 60+ goals that season.

This just goes to suggest that Hazard would thrive in a place where he has an amazing supporting cast and plays rubbish defenders every week aka PSG. He's literally outsourcing most his attacking flair to his teammates. He is good for us, but may only truly shine in the weaker leagues.

Hmm. I am amazed.!! I certainly hope he does better in terms of goals in order to quell his haters like raumdeuter!

D-day arriving.

raumdeuter:
Maybe he is on the same level as Douglas Costa them or probably Kingsley Coman

He is definitely much better than both. Mind you, I am not one of the hazard fanboys who over-hype him but I think you are very much underestimating/ underating him. What he has done/achieved so far deserve more plaudits than the constant berating which you dish out.
Nonetheless much more is expected.

raumdeuter:
Better than Quaresma?

I would love to see Douglas Costas output/stats.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
AVENUE ; STAMFORD BRIDGE

Facts

Chelsea have not lost any of their last seven league games against Manchester United (W3 D4). They've never gone eight without defeat against United in their league history.
Manchester United have lost more Premier League fixtures against Chelsea than any other side (16).

Preview Coming soon

Nihilist:
As you can see in this chart, Hazard in 14/15 was quite close to Ronaldo/Messi in both shot accuracy, and shot conversion rate...18% for Hazard, 21% for Ronaldo and 23% for Messi.

Where the massive difference between CR7/Messi and Hazard lies is in the number of attempted shots. Both Messi and Ronaldo attempted more than double Hazard's shots that year...Ronaldo almost trebled Hazard's shots.

I believe that this chart shows quite starkly Hazard's lack of ambition in comparison to the greats of our time. Despite an ability to hit the target with an accuracy that is on par with those legends, he was simply not chasing goals by taking more shots. If he had taken the same number of shots as Messi that year whilst maintaining that conversion rate, he would have scored 33+ goals that year alone.

I see!! Well, in that case, we can only hope he improves his shots now that he has been freed of any defensive responsibility and has been given a free role.

Chelsea analysis: Antonio Conte won’t tolerate chaos at Stamford Bridge, he needs order and commitment

Antonio Conte saw off one of his predecessors on Saturday. He could do without another pitching up at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The 3-0 win over Leicester took Chelsea up to fifth place in the table, sweeping Claudio Ranieri’s champions aside without too much effort. There is still an air of unease about Conte and his team, though.

The flurry of betting that suggested the Italian might be leaving the Bridge last week had no real basis but no one would be entirely surprised if there was any truth behind the crashing odds. The 47-year-old has the demeanour of a man in a different job to the one he expected.

On Sunday, Jose Mourinho brings Manchester United to west London. It is the start of a dangerous run of six League games that also includes Everton and Tottenham at home and Manchester City away. Chelsea also face West Ham in the League Cup during this period.

Conte is famed for his ability as a tactician but he probably did not expect to have to make such sweeping changes to the shape of the team in his first eight games. If playing David Luiz at centre-back and Victor Moses as a wing-back in a 3-4-3 system had been in the job description then Conte may have spurned Roman Abramovich’s advances.

Ranieri and Mourinho might have some sympathy with the latest incumbent in the Chelsea hot seat. Between them, they were sacked three times by the Russian owner. Ranieri was the first to go and in the 12 years since he departed the club have had seven permanent and four temporary managers.

Across football there is a notion that stability brings success. In W6 a different mindset formed. Since 2004, Chelsea have won 13 trophies, including four titles and a Champions League. Instability seemed to be no barrier to collecting silverware. It was glory through chaos and managers appeared interchangeable.

There is some validity to this theory as long as the squad is filled with top-class, highly-motivated players. During the past decade the Cobham training ground was full of them. The leaders, fighters, winners of Chelsea’s great era are now gone or in deep decline. Perhaps anyone could win with Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, John Terry, Michael Ballack, Petr Cech and their contemporaries but it is significantly harder to bring home trophies with Conte’s charges.
The Italian inherited an unbalanced squad that was the result of years of unfocused player acquisition that put too much of a premium on entertainment and too little on creating a solid framework for the team.

He might have expected more, too, from an academy that has produced five FA Youth Cup-winning sides since 2010. The consistency at this level has led to youngsters developing into first-team players. There is a disconnect at the club that favours high-priced imports and has sidelined (or loaned out) home-grown prospects.
Conte sees this. His mood has been downbeat. The Italian has at times been fixated with last season’s 10th-place finish. He does not want it to happen on his watch. The fear is real.

Victories over Leicester and Hull with Conte’s mix-and-match system will not give him any false sense of security. Ranieri’s team, who should have provided a proper test, had one eye on tomorrow’s Champions League tie against Copenhagen.
Their Continental adventures this year have been characterized by three-goal defeats in the domestic matches preceding their European ties — 4-1 routs by Liverpool and United before the loss at Chelsea. Ranieri admitted he was resting players at the Bridge.

Mourinho will take a different approach. He returns bearing a grudge over last season’s meltdown and sacking and will be focused on undermining Conte’s system. United have been as pedestrian under the Portuguese as they were in the previous campaign under Louis van Gaal but in the next six days Mourinho can transform their season.

Tonight he takes his team to Anfield to face Liverpool and on Sunday he is back at the Bridge, the two English grounds where he most enjoys winning. Whatever happens tonight, Mourinho will want to make a point in west London next weekend and his former team look vulnerable.

Chaos worked for a long time at Chelsea. It will not work for Conte. He is a coach who needs order, commitment and confidence that his players can carry out his instructions.

In January, or next summer’s window, Chelsea must find personnel to suit him. There is recognition among the club’s hierarchy that they need to tailor their business to their manager’s wishes. The other option is more change. That has stopped working. If Chelsea take that route, the suspicion is Abramovich will have to get used to an empty trophy cabinet.

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/chelsea-analysis-antonio-conte-won-t-tolerate-chaos-at-stamford-bridge-he-needs-order-and-commitment-a3370871.html

Chelsea Here Chelsea There
We take a look at how our players out on loan fared this weekend, including one who scored for a fourth game in a row, and we preview the next seven days...

LOAN HIGHLIGHTS
In the Premier League this weekend, Patrick Bamford came on as a late substitute for Burnley on Sunday but was unable to stop the Clarets falling to a 3-1 defeat to Southampton.

However in the Championship, Lucas Piazon (pictured below) opened the scoring for Fulham in their 4-2 victory at Barnsley, with former Blue Slavisa Jokanovic’s side twice coming from behind to secure a notable win. Tomas Kalas was missing through injury,

It was a rare match without a goal for Tammy Abraham, as Bristol City lost 2-1 against Cardiff City in Neil Warnock’s first game in charge of the Welsh club. Christian Atsu came off the bench for Newcastle in their 3-1 win over Brentford, which moved the Magpies above Huddersfield into second place in the Championship table. Kasey Palmer started for Huddersfield who lost 1-0 against Sheffield Wednesday in a Sunday lunchtime kick-off, and Izzy Brown was in the Rotherham side that lost 3-1 to Norwich City at Carrow Road and remain bottom.

In League One, Charlie Colkett featured in midfield for Bristol Rovers, who left it late to come back to win 2-1 against Gillingham.

In the fourth tier, Alex Kiwomya came off the bench to net a dramatic late equaliser for Crewe just a minute after Notts County had taken the lead. That match ended 1-1, as did Wycombe’s match at Mansfield, with Jamal Blackman between the sticks for the Chairboys. Jordan Houghton played the full match for Doncaster Rovers, who beat Colchester United 1-0 and stay in second place in the table.

In the Ryman League, Nathan Baxter was in goal for the Metropolitan Police in a 2-2 draw against Lowestoft, having also played on Tuesday in a 2-1 defeat to Worthing.

Looking at matches abroad, in La Liga it was a day to forget for Granada, for whom Victorien Angban played in a 7-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid. Charly Musonda remained on the bench for what was almost as big a defeat for Real Betis who shipped six goals at home to Real Madrid and scored once in reply.

In the Bundesliga, Baba Rahman played the whole game for Schalke in a 1-1 draw against Augsburg. Andreas Christensen was at the back for Borussia Monchengladbach who kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw against Hamburg, although they will have been disappointed not to take all three points, having missed two penalties. Our young Dane recorded a notable personal statistic in that game. His total of 119 passes completed was the highest by any player in one of the major leagues in Europe this weekend.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Bertrand Traore scored Ajax’s second in a 2-0 win over Den Haag and Lewis Baker (pictured top) was also on the scoresheet, netting the opener from a free-kick for Vitesse Arnhem as they drew 2-2 with AZ Alkmaar. That is the fourth game in a row in which the midfielder has scored. Matt Miazga lined up at the back for Vitesse.

In Belgium, Matej Delac played in goal for Mouscron in a 2-2 draw with Genk, while in Turkey, Kenneth Omeruo played in defence for Alanyaspor in their 1-1 draw with Fenerbahce.

The week ahead

The first match action of the week is for our development squad who play their second game in the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday night. Adi Viveash’s side travel to Devon where they will take on an Exeter City senior side. It kicks off at 7.45pm and it is live on Chelsea TV.

On Thursday night there is a special gala event at Stamford Bridge to celebrate the life of Lord Attenborough. The worlds of football and film will mix and there are a few tickets remaining.

Chelsea TV’s Friday Night Live returns this week with Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois the guests in the studio.
Saturday morning is the when the Under-18s will next play a league match. They are away at Tottenham before the weekend’s main event on Sunday afternoon when we host Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. There is bound to be plenty of interest in what the two managers say ahead of that match and Antonio Conte’s press conference will be shown live on this website on Friday.

Nihilist:
Skillwise Hazard has it all it takes to be included in that bracket of players. Mentally though? Not so much.

And tahh remove Walcott from that equation.

He lacks two basic aspects/xteristics of an attacker. Clinical finishing and set-piece taking/delievery, don't you think?

Nihilist:
N'Golo Kante was too small to fit the profile of midfielder Jose Mourinho was interested in when Chelsea first looked at him.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/10/14/why-ngolo-kante-walks-tall-for-chelsea-as-he-gets-ready-to-face/

Then mourinho was actively chasing pogba. We were odds on favourites to sign pogba. Given the choice, between pogba and Kante, who would you go for?

Wingback:
What hype?

Well, for starters, being compared with Ronaldo and Messi.

Hazard is simply not living up to the hype.

this can't be real

Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas and wife Daniella Semaan expecting third child - and already know the gender

The couple already have two daughters together, three-year-old Lia and one-year-old Capri, and they are now expecting their first son

Cesc Fabregas and wife Daniella Semaan are expecting their third child together, the Chelsea midfielder has confirmed.
Spanish midfielder Fabregas posted a picture of his partner's ultrasound scan on his Instagram profile on Sunday.

The couple already have two daughters together, three-year-old Lia and one-year-old Capri, and they are now expecting their first son.

"Another baby is on the way, and this time it's a boy," Fabregas wrote on Instagram.
"I couldn't be any happier. I hope everyone is feeling as blessed as I am today. Cheers to you my love... @daniellasemaan #GodBlessMyFamily #ThankYouGod".

Fabregas hasn't played for Chelsea since the Blues' 3-0 Premier League defeat at Arsenal last month.
The 29-year-old was on the bench for the win at Hull City earlier in October and was omitted from the squad entirely for Saturday's easy win over Leicester.
However, it is understood his absence was due to a minor injury.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/chelsea-star-cesc-fabregas-wife-9057581

Why is no one talking about fabregas?? Has he been forgotten so soon?
I hope we get at least a decent sum for him.

Ibime:
Spurs have been blessed with a plethora of goalscoring no8s in the last 4 years.

They can even afford to dash out Sigurdsson and Chadli whilst still having Dele Alli and Eriksson on their books.

Meanwhile we dey manage Oscar all this while.

Ibime!! Long time, you never told us the sex and name of the baby.
How is fatherhood?

Willian says ‘thanks’

The Brazilian is mourning a terrible loss.
Chelsea beat Leicester 3-0 on Saturday in the Premier League, but they did so without their influential midfielder Willian.

The Brazilian international headed back to his homeland after the international break following the sad passing of his mum.

Willian’s mum passed away on Wednesday after her two-year battle against a brain tumor. She was only 57.

The footballer used Instagram to post a poem after the news originally broke, and he’s returned to social media on Saturday night once again.
The Blues star reached out to thank all those who have contacted him in recent days. He wrote:

I want to thank affectionately to all my family, friends and fans who have expressed their sympathy and condolences for my great loss. By gestures and words of comfort, and for the affection and attention that had me and my family. God bless you all!

Is Antonio Conte Showing He's the Man to End Chelsea's Youth hoodoo?

STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON — Whereas John Lennon sang about peace and its merits, Chelsea fans have a different concern. The rhetoric from the terraces these past few seasons has been about giving kids chances, as opposed to Lennon’s sentiments.
There’s been an overwhelming appetite for the Blues to play as many of their young stars as possible. It’s been fuelled by a total dominance at youth level, where Chelsea have won three FA Youth Cups in a row along with back-to-back UEFA Youth League titles.

To put that success into perspective, not since Manchester United’s Busby Babes generation has a team wielded such dominance. Chelsea have become the pre-eminent club when we think of youth football in the UK; yet still we’re waiting to see that success carry over to where it really matters with the first-team.

Well, a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leicester City on Saturday felt like a breakthrough. Not because Antonio Conte saw his team record back-to-back Premier League clean sheets for the first time since April; it wasn’t because the Blues swept the reigning champions aside with a rediscovered ruthless edge, either.

At Stamford Bridge, we saw the bench populated with four recent youth team products—five if we’re including John Terry in that number. Three of them would make appearances later in the game.

Injuries and family bereavements in the Chelsea squad played a part in that, but just the sight of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Nathaniel Chalobah, Ola Aina and Dominic Solanke on the teamsheet would have enthused many. They weren’t starting the match, nor would they appear en masse to inspire a Chelsea victory; but the presence of that quartet told us something about Conte and how he isn’t afraid to complete his squad with the next generation of players who are coming through in west London.

There hasn’t been a Chelsea manager do that since the days of when Bobby Campbell, Ian Porterfield and Glenn Hoddle were in charge in the late-1980s and early-to-mid-1990s. Multiple generations have passed us by in that time.

Back then, transfer budgets dictated Chelsea had to use their young players and give them opportunities. That policy gave the club Graeme Le Saux, Eddie Newton, Graham Stuart, Frank Sinclair, David Lee and others.

They were of varying abilities, but the fact remained Chelsea had a squad that combined the best of their youth team and those they could afford to buy. It led to an FA Cup final appearance in 1994, while Newton and Sinclair featured in the team that won the trophy in 1997. Le Saux was back at the club after a move to Blackburn Rovers when they won the League Cup and Cup Winner’s Cup the following season.

Bankrolled by Roman Abramovich in the present, the same need to look within hasn’t been there. The owner’s deep pockets have meant that regardless of success in junior football, another player to rival the homegrown attributes of Terry has been harder to come by.

Chelsea are a club in the elite, and, as such, it’s elite players they require. Those sorts of players have been available in the transfer market; untested and untrusted youngsters aren’t able to compete. More to the point, the confidence or faith—call it what you will—hasn’t been there to see if they can.

That policy has frustrated. Chelsea fans have seen hoards of young hopefuls leave the club—some to go on and enjoy the sort of success it was hoped they would in west London. It cost Chelsea north of £20 million to bring back Nemanja Matic after his premature exit to Benfica in 2011.

Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luis Felipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo, Rafa Benitez and Mourinho again—the list of managers unwilling to turn to youth as a solution has been a long one.

Now Conte’s showing he is maybe the man to turn the tide.

Sure, the need is there for the Italian to do it on more than one occasion over the coming season if we're to believe the change is happening. We need to see a repeat of the Leicester gains more frequently, although his use of Chalobah is the biggest indicator yet as to where he stands on the issue of Chelsea’s youth.

The 21-year-old entered the fray against Leicester at a vital stage of the game. The visitors weren’t on top, but there was a hint of them getting back into the game. Prior to Chalobah’s entrance on 68 minutes, Claudio Ranieri’s players were beginning to get more from Chelsea. The Foxes were breaking through a midfield that had been stingy up to that point; they were getting more balls into the box; they were getting at Chelsea.

Conte understood where the game was headed, and he turned to Chalobah to swing it back in Chelsea’s favour. When Chelsea made it 3-0 and subsequently game over thanks to Victor Moses—Chalobah earned himself an assist for the goal with an audacious back heel—Loftus-Cheek and Aina followed as substitutes.

“Today I am pleased as another young player from the academy played his first [Premier League] game,” Conte said in reference to Aina’s appearance. “Chalobah showed that he’s a young player, but a player who is really able.

“Now we must continue to work and follow in this way. For me and the players, this is the right way.”
Comfortable scorelines rarely dictated similar moves from Mourinho. It was only when a season became a trophy parade that we would ever see anything like three academy players appearing together. Few others in his position have done the same, either.

Conte was asked about his refusal to bring Diego Costa off when the game was wrapped up and the Italian spoke of how difficult it can be to close games out in England.
“I know that in English football, you are winning 2-0 and then in 10 minutes or 15 minutes you are losing 3-2. For this reason I always try to maintain the right atmosphere on the pitch for my players,” said the boss.
“This is important as it’s very difficult to manage a result in England. Anything can happen right to the end and for this reason I remained patient and I wanted to present this to my players.”

We should use that perspective to understand his use of Chalobah. If Chelsea needed their leading goalscorer to keep Leicester at bay, by that reckoning they equally needed Pedro, who Chalobah would replace. Let's not forget, Pedro is a World Cup and Champions League winner.
Where Costa was concerned, it was about his quality. And with just Michy Batshuayi and Solanke available as replacement strikers, it was experience, too.

Aina made his Premier League debut against Leicester City
Conte’s point was a clear one: Despite the risk of injury or suspension, he needs to field his strongest team when he can. Inadvertently, he’s putting Chalobah into that bracket.
Indeed, it was an interesting sight when Chalobah came on for the Blues. He was getting ready to warm up pitchside, jogging past the manager before he got an earful from Conte. What the Italian said was inaudible from the press box, but Chalobah’s immediate response to strip down into his kit told us what we couldn’t hear.

Conte was energetic in his actions; he wasn’t wasting time in getting the midfielder on. There was a specific need to close this game out, which Chelsea would do more emphatically than Conte had perhaps expected with that third goal.

Whatever the tactics dictated, Chalobah was a part of that. In the long term, will it be the same for Chelsea’s other talented upstarts?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2668165-is-antonio-conte-showing-hes-the-man-to-end-chelseas-youth-hoodoo

Nigerians Lash Out At Victor Moses Over Goal Celebration After Scoring In Chelsea Win Over Leicester City

Victor Moses goal celebration after scoring in Chelsea 3-0 win over Champions Leicester City didn’t quite go down well with some Nigerians, judging by their reactions on twitter.
Moses missed the Super Eagles of Nigeria 2-1 win over Zambia in Ndola, with a hamstring injury picked up in Chelsea’s win over Hull City but some Nigerians were of the opinion that he feigned injury to skip the tie.
However the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) debunked the insinuations but after seeing Moses celebrate his goal in style with back flips. Some Nigerians were quick to reopen the debate as to if he was actually injured or if the injury was fabricated so he can skip the tie against Zambia.

They took to twitter to air their views, on the 25 year old, who is experiencing a new lease of life at Chelsea under manager Antonio Conte. Owngoalnigeria.com picked just two of the numerous tweet aimed at him.

” Good to see Chelsea have gotten a better medic then. Moses was so sick, he couldn’t fly to Nigeria for a game. Doing. flips now” One wrote.
” Victor Moses Starts and scores for Chelsea after miraculously recovering from a hamstring injury he got while removing his boots. Classic way to celebrate” Another wrote.

http://owngoalnigeria.com/2016/10/15/nigerians-lash-out-at-victor-moses-over-goal-celebration-after-scoring-in-chelsea-win-over-leicester-city/

Official Chelsea fan thread.
https://www.nairaland.com/920248/official-chelsea-fan-thread-pride

I hope you guys win Liverpool.

LordEmperoris1:
DONJAZET BETWEEN CHELSEA AND MANURE WHO WILL SUPPORT NEXT WEEK?

Hmmm

donjazet:
The Roman Empire in deep waters.

Chelsea's owner, Roman Abrahmovic has lost 2.7 billion dollars in the last three quarters of the fiscal year due to the drop in oil prices. This has led to him listing most of his oil assets in Russia, America and the Caribbean gulf for sale.
Reports say this is to focus on his steel and aluminum businessess coupled with his other real estate ventures.
The Russian oligarch once owned the largest yatch in the world, but it is understood that he has listed the yatch for sale in the region of $400 million.

Sources say, he is also considering going into the ammunition industry, of recent the industry has risen vastly and the marginal profit in the market is mouth watering, he has approached the government in his native home to get the necessary approvements to begin the manufacture and production of arms and ammunition.

This has put question marks as to if he will indeed continue to bankroll, his beloved asset in London, Chelsea football club. Since 2003, his sub company fordstam has given interest free loan in the region of 1 billion pounds.
With her heavy hits to his pockets, One can only wonder if he will still finance the heavy projects soon to be commenced by the club.

Is anyone else concerned about this?
Which way forward?

bigkesh:
All I want in life right is for Solanke to score a stoppage winner at Old Trafford then runs down to Mourinho on his knees with Rlc,Chalobah and Aina all over him


Conte would have seriously loved Baker and Ake in this 3-4-3,but never mind its all good cos we now have a coach that has almost everything



Beat Mourinho at home and get a 'Conteholic' account,Mr Conte

What do you mean by "having everything"?? Don't get carried away, we are very thin in terms of squad size.

David Luis is playing so well right now. He may actually be worth that price.

emmasege:
That's a naija man for you. They shun national invitations the moment they are in the limelight and command first team shirt especially in Grade A European clubs. Jay Jay, Papillo, Obagoal and Mikel were once like that. Watch Moses rushing back to super eagles' camp the moment he loses club relevance.

I hope Iheanacho and Alex don't tread the unpatriotic path of their big brothers soonest, because those guys are going places and it's still to early to measure their patriotic zeal.

Nigerian government hardly recognizes the players effort, so why the hell will they give their all for the nation, when their efforts are not duly recognized/repaid??

Conte's post match interview.

Antonio Conte was full of praise for his side after he watched them produce a fine performance to beat Leicester City 3-0 and dedicated the victory to Willian, who missed the game following the passing of his mother earlier this week.
Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Victor Moses scored the goals as we recorded a second consecutive victory, as well as a second straight clean sheet.
‘In the first half we played a very good game with high intensity, good passing and finding the attackers between the lines,’ said Conte. ‘We created many chances to score and we were aggressive when we lost the ball.

‘Today I’m pleased because I saw the things we have been working on this week. Above all I’m pleased for the players because when you work so hard during the week it’s logical you want to see a good result and a good game.
‘Now we have a whole week to work and to see who is in the best shape to play the next match. The players know I want to see the right commitment and work-rate, after that I decide the formation. Another young player from the academy, Ola Aina, played his first (Premier league) game, and Nathaniel Chalobah showed he is really able.’

Our two most recent victories have come since Conte changed the formation to 3-4-3
‘I changed the system because when you arrive at a new team you need time to study the right fit for the team. After we conceded a lot of goals I decided to change before the Hull game. When I see my players during the week working this way I’m very calm.’

Conte explained why he kept Diego Costa on the pitch when the striker appeared to signal that he wanted to come off
‘If I can I want to keep Costa on until the end, he’s an important player with great personality. I know it was a risk because if he got another yellow card he would miss the next game but his passion is important for the team and he must transfer this in every minute of the game. I always take the responsibility in every situation, positive or negative, substitutions are always my decision.’

The Italian also praised Victor Moses, who impressed at right wing-back
‘When I arrived at Chelsea I told the club I wanted to see Victor in pre-season because I knew him very well and I knew about his great potential. He played well as a winger when we were playing with a 4-2-4. He’s a very good player, now he’s playing as a wing-back and it’s fantastic because he pays great attention in defence and can go one against one in attack. Alonso always played this role but Moses is a winger. His education is fantastic. I’m pleased for him. If someone shows they deserve to play I have no problem, I don’t care about the surname.’

Conte concluded his press conference by speaking about Willian
‘I want to dedicate the win to Willian and his family because we know it’s a very sad moment for him, and for us, because we are all very close.’